Saturday, May 17, 2014

Being Nurtured

The past few months have been a little rough around here, and Mama LaJoy has been tugged in many different directions. This week, it just seemed more overwhelming than usual, like my brain is being tugged this way and that as I try to meet the needs of everyone, and never quite do a good job of it. Dominick and I were talking about it, and we have always had a lot on our plate, but it has usually been one Big Thing and lots of small things. Part of the reason it all feels so hard right now is because it is lots of Big Things, and then lots of little things on top of it. As I shared with a friend tonight on the phone, all is good in many, many ways...and we are trusting everything will work out in ways that are good for all of us.

When Mom is the one who takes care of everything, we are usually not the one who gets taken care of. Well, that is true unless you have Angela for a daughter. The past couple of days she quietly offered me care in ways that were so thoughtful, and really allowed me time to sit and relax a bit after a lot of running around and tasks on my "to do" list. Yesterday, after I had to cancel dinner having a friend come over because there was just too much going on, Angela took over making dinner herself. She shoo'd me out of the kitchen, telling me she had everything under control, and to go lay down or watch TV. An hour or so later, dinner was served...salad, pasta, garlic bread, the works. Olesya had made a contribution as well as she made a Key Lime Pie for everyone. I couldn't believe how nice it was to just let it all go for a while and let someone else manage it.

I had another surprise in store, when I came home this afternoon after helping shuttle Olesya and Josh to a rafting trip. Angela had already worked all morning at a friends farm planting trees with Matt and Kenny. When I returned home, the house had been totally cleaned, all the little messes picked up, and there was nothing for me to do but relax. To top it off, Kenny and Matt were up on the roof getting the swamp cooler working for the summer, being directed by Dominick who was up there guiding them. I ended up making a parts run, but I had more time to relax this weekend than I've had in months...all because Angela (along with a little help from others) cared so much about allowing me time to myself.

Being nurtured instead of being the one always being the nurturer is a different role for me. There is a little guilt that accompanies it, I think, and also a lot of gratitude. Angela told me, "I know you have a big week coming up, and I wanted to make it a little easier for you." I will be traveling to Florida to work at a homeschool show from Wednesday through Sunday, so there is a lot I need to do to get ready, in addition to a lot of other craziness going on around here. Having such thoughtful daughters (and, of course, thoughtful sons!) is just nothing I ever pictured in all the years we waited for them.

In other news, Matthew finished his computer! It took him a mere 4 hours to put the entire thing together. He asked if he could stay up late, having started on it at 9:00 PM with great excitement after coming home from Civil Air Patrol, and he told me he went to bed at 1:00 AM. When I awoke at 7:00 AM, it was up and running, completely put together, and Windows installed.

I couldn't believe it...he did it all by himself, Dominick went to bed around 9:30. Kenny assisted, but he conked out around 11:30 PM. It runs perfectly, and I have to admit...I have never seen a faster computer operating, nor one with graphics this good. It will serve his purposes well,but more importantly, he learned that he can teach himself to do something BIG. Here he is with the finished product:

Joshie and Olesya are on an overnight rafting trip with friends, and they were SO excited! It is wonderful of Mr. Todd to take them out and let them have an adventure we'd never be able to provide them with. It is a very "Colorado" thing to do, and they will return tomorrow night red cheeked and exhausted, with plenty of tales to regale us with.

And now, off to bed, where I can avoid the sound of the movie "Poltergeist" which Dominick and Kenny are watching, which the rest of us refused to watch. Angie, Matt and I really dislike those kinds of films, so we are letting them have control of the remote tonight. Haha!